By mustang6560 on 4/11/11

Charles Schwartzel maneuvered his way through the crowded leaderboard Sunday afternoon to win The Masters and his first major championship.

The final round featured a surging Tiger Woods, an international leaderboard, a complete let down from 54-hole leader Rory McIlroy and a first time Masters champion. All in all, it made for a fantastic finish at Augusta.

On an amazing Sunday at Augusta National, where the roars came from everywhere and for everyone and didn't stop until it was over, Schwartzel emerged from the madness by becoming the first Masters champion to close with four straight birdies.

His final putt from 20 feet curled into the side of the cup for a 6-under 66, the best closing round at the Masters in 22 years. It gave the 26-year-old South African a two-shot victory over Australians Adam Scott and Jason Day.

I was driving home yesterday during the first part of the final round so I was forced to watch the leaderboard update on my iPhone. Who knew an iPhone app could be so exciting?

Tiger Woods opened his round shooting a five-under 31 on the front nine including a miraculous par save on hole nine. For a moment in time, I thought Tiger was going to set a new course record at Augusta and win The Masters because he hadn't even reach the "scoring" holes yet. When he missed his eagle putt on hole 15, I knew he was going to come up just short.

I got home just in time to see Rory McIlory hit his tee shot on hole 10 in between two cabins, which ended up being the beginning of the end for the young Northern Irishman. It was really hard to watch him implode on the final 9 holes. He had done such a great job maintain his wits heading into the back nine at Augusta, but he just couldn't quite hang on.

For a moment, it looked like there may be a five-way playoff to decide The Masters. Everyone including Bo Van Pelt, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Geoff Ogilvy and Luke Donald made a run at the championship. But in the end, Schwartzel held off a surging field finishing with four birdies. Talk about closing strong!

I thoroughly enjoyed watching The Masters. I must admit though, I was rooting for Rory. I wanted to see a wire-to-wire victory for the 21 year old. If the first major of the year set the tone for the other three majors to come, I can't wait!



Full Story

photo source